The government’s UWV benefits agency has paid for several people to retrain as a ‘spiritual consultant’ or hypnotist, according to an item by public radio programme Reporter Radio.

Since 2008, seven people over the age of 50 have had funding of almost €1,000 to follow courses run by Paradidakt in Zoetermeer, Nos reports. The courses include reading Tarot cards and fortune-telling using a crystal ball. In addition, the UWV has paid for reincarnation sessions in the Ardennes region of Belgium, the programme said.

The UWV has defended its decision because the course provider guarantees a job at the end of it. The new fortune tellers work via a premium rate phone line earning 29 cents a minute. In addition, Paradidakt is an officially recognised training institute.

Paradidakt spokeswoman Marianne van der Wilk said she understood that people would have their doubts about the course and say it should not be funded. ‘But we can give the unemployed who don’t have much chance of a normal job a useful function,’ she told the AD.